Much like most major cities, in Seattle there are currently a number of construction projects underway. Old buildings have been demolished to give way to new apartment complexes, office buildings, and retail establishments. It’s exciting to see different neighborhoods getting more built up, but there’s been an irksome downside to all the construction (well, aside [...]
Posts Tagged ‘city streets’
How much of an inconvenience to pedestrians are construction sites?
Posted Wednesday, March 13th, 2013Motorcycle lane-splitting in California to remain unrestricted for the foreseeable future
Posted Friday, March 1st, 2013A California Senate bill proposing restrictions on motorcycle lane splitting was placed on hold this week pending a safety study currently being conducted by UC-Berkeley. The bill, which would have eliminated lane splitting from highways of less than three lanes and required motorcyclists to engage in the activity at a “safe speed” only when facing [...]
What’s the true measure of a city’s walkability?
Posted Friday, February 22nd, 2013Despite offering a good starting point, there’s still plenty of information missing when you look at the Walkscore of a specific location. As has been pointed out plenty of times there are some serious limitations when it comes to the most prominently cited rankings of a neighborhood’s walkability. In addition to not considering factors like [...]
Nevada bill seeks to ban pedestrians from using cell phones while crossing the street
Posted Friday, February 15th, 2013Distracted driving is a serious threat to street safety, but what about distracted walking? A new bill in Nevada would make it illegal for pedestrians to text, enter data, or otherwise read information on their cell phone while in the process of crossing a street. The bill, introduced by Democratic Las Vegas Assemblyman Harvey Munford [...]
Does jaywalking enforcement encourage ‘victim blaming’ mentality when it comes to pedestrian deaths?
Posted Thursday, January 31st, 2013An article from the DC Area blog “Greater Greater Washington” posed an interesting question about whether a recent pedestrian enforcement campaign is essentially “blaming the victim” by targeting the wrong people for the wrong types of behavior. The sign (pictured to the right) encourages pedestrians to avoid distractions, always use a crosswalk, and obey the [...]
SFPD ramps up traffic enforcement, targets right-of-way infractions against pedestrians
Posted Thursday, January 3rd, 2013Thanks to a $140,000 federal grant, the San Francisco Police Department will be stepping up traffic enforcement efforts in 2013. SFPD plans to focus on some of the city’s most vulnerable areas, including schools and senior centers, cracking down on traffic violations that threaten pedestrian safety. Drivers failing to adhere to pedestrian safety laws will [...]
The safety implications of driverless cars
Posted Wednesday, September 26th, 2012California is now the third state to legalize driverless cars, joining the ranks of Nevada and Florida in paving the way for what might be the new technology’s largest obstacles yet: testing and regulation. With an estimated 80 percent of all accidents occurring as a result of human error, the safety implications of reducing that [...]
Support Pedestrian Advocacy by Participating in the 8th Annual Peak2Peak Walk
Posted Friday, September 7th, 2012Saturday, September 15th will mark the 8th Annual Peak2Peak Walk, an event led by the pedestrian advocacy group Walk SF. The walk begins in the heart of the Mission and includes a lunch stop for a picnic in Golden Gate Park. During the 14 mile walk, participants will discover hidden stairways and explore new paths [...]
Making the bike a family vehicle
Posted Friday, August 31st, 2012Behold, the bicycle minivan. Last week the Bay Citizen featured an article on how some San Francisco parents are opting to make the bike a family vehicle. The article contained the following video featuring Ginger Bisharat, a North Panhandle resident who uses a long bike to transport her two kids to and from school. Ginger [...]
Even minor separation between roads and bike lanes increases rider safety
Posted Thursday, August 30th, 2012A recent experiment conducted by Brooklyn Spoke blog author Doug Gordon has confirmed what many people already suspected; simply having a barrier between the road and bike lane can have a dramatic impact on driver behavior. Inspired by the DIY guerrilla bike lane comprised of orange construction cones, Gordon decided to use red Solo cups [...]
New poll shows SF pedestrians want increased safety, more traffic enforcement
Posted Thursday, August 23rd, 2012A recent survey conducted by the Bay Citizen is showing that despite being considered one of the top U.S. cities for walking, San Francisco pedestrians don’t always feel safe on city streets. The survey found that nearly half of the 98 respondents wanted increased enforcement from police when it comes to ticketing drivers and cyclists. [...]
15 Back to School Safety Tips for Kids and Drivers
Posted Tuesday, August 21st, 2012Summer vacation is coming to an end and the back to school blitz is officially here. With kids getting set to resume their daily commute, and some younger children getting ready to start school for the first time, now is the perfect opportunity to review some key safety tips for children and motorists alike. A [...]
Poor condition of Bay Area roads often contribute to deadly accidents
Posted Wednesday, August 8th, 2012Reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that between 2001 and 2010 nearly 70 people were killed in Bay Area car crashes resulting from problems with the roadway. Causes ranged from uneven pavement to poor signage, with conditions such as severe potholes, ruts, and gaps posing additional hazards for cyclists. In fact, [...]
The Most Common Reasons Cyclists Run Red Lights (and How to Make Intersections Safer)
Posted Tuesday, July 31st, 2012According to a study by Monash University that was recently published in Accident Analysis and Prevention, almost 40 percent of Australian cyclists admit to running a red light. However, researchers behind the study suggest that fines may only play a small role in developing an effective strategy to improve safety and encourage cyclists to obey [...]
Transportation spending bill worries bike advocates
Posted Monday, June 25th, 2012Congress is looking at a transportation spending bill this week, but bike advocates are worried that senators who are “anxious for a deal” will toss out a provision that would provide bicycling safety measures. The Senate originally presented the transportation bill as a two-year, $109 billion measure that also funded bike paths and sidewalks through [...]
‘Right hook’ bike fatality in Portland offers reminder for cyclists and drivers to exercise caution
Posted Friday, May 18th, 2012The recent and tragic death of a Portland bicyclist is serving as a stark reminder that “right hook” accidents are far too common. The woman, Kathryn Leah Rickson, was struck by a semi-truck while crossing through an intersection as the truck attempted to make a right turn in front of her. Although there was a [...]
City of Vancouver finds ‘jaywalking’ rarely the cause of pedestrian accidents
Posted Thursday, May 10th, 2012A new study using accident data from Insurance Corp. of B.C. and the Vancouver Police Department determined that nearly 75 percent of all pedestrian accidents occur at intersections, with relatively few caused by jaywalkers. Of the just over 3,000 pedestrian accidents reported between 2005 and 2010, the vast majority involved vehicles making left or right [...]
Bright green bike lanes help increase driver awareness of cyclists, boost biker safety
Posted Tuesday, May 8th, 2012With bright green bike lanes spreading across the Bay Area, the hope is that even the most oblivious drivers should start to take notice. The freshly painted bike lanes are designed to make cyclists more visible to drivers, and are being placed primarily in areas where there’s a heavy mixture of vehicle and bike traffic. [...]
San Francisco combats transit inefficiency by having buses police transit lanes
Posted Friday, February 17th, 2012Ensuring transit-only lanes are free of other vehicles is a costly endeavor. Even with just over 15 miles of transit-only lanes in the city of San Francisco, penalizing drivers who obstruct or abuse bus lanes requires too much manpower to make significant enforcement possible. Now, the city has found a more efficient way to cut [...]
Cyclists ride from Florida to San Francisco promoting safer routes for students
Posted Thursday, February 16th, 2012An organization called Ride America for Safe Routes is doing exactly what their name suggests by cycling 5,500 miles across the country to raise money and awareness for safe walking and cycling routes to and from school. The riders set out from Key West on February 5th and plan to ride between 50 and 100 [...]
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